“Hot Dog Dave” Bannon, whose cart is a fixture at Second Street Beach in North Wildwood, is moving into the gastronomic mainstream come April 1 (he hopes) when there’ll be a “soft” opening for Tom Cat at 430 W. Rio Grande Avenue, an island icon that goes back to the Fifties, he says.

Bannon went on that he wants to have a big-time “grand opening” for his version of Tom Cat in May.  He says that the dining spot will be open from 7 a.m. To 3 p.m. weekdays and late nights on the weekend.

The venue closed in ’09 and Bannon says he’ll have the usual breakfast and lunch menus with a daily special.

And don’t worry, bow-wow fans, “Hot Dog Dave” will still be dishing ’em out at Second Street. “I really like it down there,” he says. “It’s like a little community of friends.”